XX 
IN MEMORIAM 
ception of the conditions, I ventured to differ from him in both 
respects. But the war weighed heavily on him, and he told me 
he could not sleep at night for thinking of it and its consequences. 
He had, however, almost completed the manuscript of his book, 
and commenced printing. He then took a holiday in Ireland 
with Mr. Gamble. It is possible that he over-fatigued himself. 
On his return he had some kind of sudden seizure, and for some 
time he was in a precarious state but slowly recovered. He 
then came to see me at Kew, and though he was obviously very 
much broken I did not feel any immediate anxiety about him. 
But he had, repeated failure of the heart’s action, and to this he 
eventually succumbed. He spent his life strenuously and with 
distinction in the service of his country and in the interests of 
science, and the end came with the simple exhaustion of his 
physical powers. 
Almost his last enquiry was as to the progress of his book. 
This fortunately had been left in a state which enabled Mr. W. B. 
Hemsley, F.R.S., the Keeper of the Herbarium, to see it through 
the press with little difficulty. I think Collett felt no real anxiety 
as to its fate. He hoped that it would stimulate an interest in a 
subject which he himself had found a pleasant recreation in the 
midst of official duties. Those who use it will speedily discover 
that it is no mere compilation but the outcome of conscientious 
and independent work. Collett had the true scientific tempera- 
ment. He had no respect for scientific authority and distrusted 
textbooks. He was never content without verifying the facts for 
himself. He described his plants fresh from the field and at once 
entered in his notebooks copious memoranda and excellent draw- 
ings, and these he constantly used in working up his material at 
Kew. 
At first sight there may seem something anomalous in a dis- 
tinguished soldier devoting his years of retirement to botanical 
studies, still more perhaps in prosecuting them in the midst of his 
professional duties. As a matter of fact, the obligations of 
botanical science to the Army are very great : it is sufficient to 
recall the names so familiar to botanists of the late General 
Munro, C.B. ; of the late Colonel Grant, C.B., C.S.I., and of Lieu- 
tenant-General Sir Richard Strachey, G.C.S.I. The flora of Tibet 
